[Cwo] Log submission process

[Alan Maenchen]

Don,

Here's what I think needs to happen in the log submission process.  Of
course, I'm open to ideas. A lot of this is obvious, but I'll say it anyway.

The top level process goes something like this:
1) Receive logs via web and post a list of logs received.
2) Fix logs manually (those that need fixing - expect a lot)
3) Check logs (a major process in itself)
4) Sort for winners and rank
5) Write and publish results

Anything we can do in #1 to minimize the work in #2 is a good thing.

For log submission, something as simple as this would work well:
http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php
If we feel it would help, we could add more user entered data such as which
contest period this log is for.  While I'm trying to get individual logs for
each time, there will always be a few who ignore.  We will see many variants
of "Cabrillo".  We may also see the wrong contest. I typically got one or
two CQWW logs as CQP entries every year. Binary logs .. It happens.

Minimum:
1)  Save all log entries regardless of errors.
2)  Save each entry to a file on a server.
    I like FTP since I know how to do that, but other ideas welcome.
    How to organize file names?  Does a re-submittal wipe out the original
log?
3)  Give the user a "thank you" note to QSL their submission... even if it
has errors.
4)  Discover the call sign.  May be a separate entry window, or look at the
CALL:  log line
5)  Discover which time period this log represents.
     Store the log in a separate directory for each time period or somehow
identify it in the file name.
6)  Discover power category.
7)  Discover operator call if not the same as station call.

Not required, but desirable:
1)  Check the file to see if it's in "sort of" Cabrillo form:
     not sure exactly what to look for. Any errors found here can be fed
back to the entrant and (hopefully) they will fix and re-submit.
     This can include reading one QSO: line and see if the data fields are
readable (logical).
     The more that can be done here, the less "log fixing" we have to do
later.
     Log checking will require only the QSO data: (Time, Band, S_Call, S_NR,
S_Name, R_Call, R_NR, R_Name)
2)  Check the file and extract a claimed score. This can be used to post on
a "logs submitted" page (or not).
3)  what else?


Well, this is a start.

Note:  Personally, I know how to deal with individual files. Eventually data
needs to be collected and transferred to a spreadsheet. I can do that from
text files. Personally, I do NOT know how to deal with a database. Other
contests are using SQL, but that's over my head. WX5S software is all based
on database structures. That's fine so long as the result gets into a
spreadsheet somehow. Getting the individual logs into and through the log
checking process is a separate issue. I think if we receive each log and get
it into a fixed Cabrillo format that's consistent, we can then move forward.

73, Alan  AD6E
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.kkn.net/pipermail/cwo/attachments/20110514/ea37615f/attachment-0001.html